Very recent occurrences in my life have led me to reflect upon the W.W. Jacobs work, “The Monkey’s Paw”.  The story, while short, is a startling reminder that the phrase “Be careful what you wish for” is one of the most profound gems of advice. 

  We are all “guilty” of voicing desires.  Every one of us wants something.  Some of us pray for things, be it to god or elsewhere, without giving much thought to the way in which we ask.  We don’t much care HOW it happens… just that it DOES happen.  Here’s a perfect example straight from my own life:  In 1998, after much saving, I’d scrounged up what seemed to me an extravagant amount of money and was ready to purchase my very first brand new car.  I was ecstatic and quite full of myself.  I’d narrowed my choices down to two small SUVs after much research and deliberation, and all that remained was to test drive them both.  Being young and having no credit posed something of a problem when it came time to dish about payments and I realized that the one SUV I’d been leaning toward was just a little out of my price range when all was said and done.  I was disappointed, of course.  I remember sitting down and agonizing over my finances, wishing I could find a way to afford the car I really wanted.  I wished and I wished, but no amount of prayer could make the numbers come out any differently.  In the end I settled on my second choice… but defiantly told myself that one day I’d own that other SUV.

  Of course, as the years passed my wants changed and my owning that car didn’t seem at all important.  It was an immediate desire that, once unattainable, just faded into the background.  Funny thing is that three years ago I was in the market for a car and was on a limited budget.  It just so happened that I ended up buying (because it was in my price range and mostly what I was looking for) that very same kind of SUV I’d wanted all those years ago.  It didn’t happen when I’d wanted it, but somehow my desire came to me in its own good time.  The irony has never failed to amuse me just slightly. 

  In the past few months I’ve seen the same power at work in my life.  Things that I’d wished for in the past seem to be coming at me, but not exactly in the ways that I’d envisioned they might.  It’s interesting to watch these things happen and giggle at how I’ve been getting exactly what I’d wished for… but not at the right time, in the expected way.  What I’ve learned here is that you CAN get what you want, but you have to be ever so careful when you ask for it.  From here on out I’m going to be sure I’m very clear in my wishes about what I want, how I want it to manifest, when I’d like it, and under what circumstances.  As I’ve seen my hopes come to fruition, I firmly believe that I can get exactly what I want if I just beg the cosmos in the proper way!